PhiBrows Microblading ⋆ Brows By Ellana

One of the best things I’ve ever done for myself was to get my eyebrows microbladed.

I had abused them as a teenager (in the 90’s, pencil-thin brows were the “in thing”) and as an adult, I have this horrible habit of ripping them out when I’m stressed. It’s completely involuntary and I don’t realise I’m doing it. So they were in a sorry state before I got them some much needed TLC! If you’re not familiar with microblading you can find out all about it in my previous blog where I wrote about my experience and what it entails.

As a semi-permanent procedure, microblading lasts for around 12-18 months before the pigment starts to fade and a touch up is needed. I was due for mine to be redone when a message popped up in my emails. A lovely woman by the name of Ellana asked asking if I’d like them done on a complimentary basis. Obviously, I said yes. No need to ask me twice! So we exchanged messages and after some toing and froing on dates, we set up an appointment! I made the trip to London a few weeks later and when we met she was so friendly and welcoming, I felt like I’d known her forever, and she made the whole process really fun.

Mapping

This process takes longer than the actual procedure. Ellana spent a long time carefully mapping out my brows, ensuring they were symmetrical and that they suited and framed my face. She was talking me through what she was doing and the points she was using to ensure they were perfect. She had an app which helped her to check everything was all perfectly aligned with the features of my face and had me check that I was happy with them.
Due to me having had them done before, she explained that she would have to go a little bit thicker to ensure the original work was well covered and blends with the new brows. But as you can see from the picture, the change was very subtle and worked very well. Once we had determined we were both happy, the procedure began.

The Procedure

Ellana is trained and uses products by PhiBrows. Their specialist pigments are vegan and cruelty-free, contain no heavy metals and are amazingly high quality. After all the mapping was done she set to work on producing my beautiful new brows.

Her methods were slightly different from my original artist but I found them to work a lot better, for me personally. She started by making a few incisions and then applied the numbing cream. This put the anaesthetic straight to work straight away and I barely felt a thing the rest of the appointment. I even remember telling her that I could have quite easily fallen asleep, it was that pain-free. You can feel the blade and the pressue, but there’s no pain and even without the anaethetic the discomfort is next to zero.

The Results

I believe she had to work a little harder on my brows than usual. My skin is wafer thin, so I bleed a lot, and it takes a little longer for the pigment to settle. The colour she used had a reddish tone and it was a perfect match for my skin tone and hair colour of choice, so I was really happy with the result.You can see from the top right picture just how sparse my brows are, even after having filled them in with makeup! The finish she gave me filled in the banks and made my brows look fuller and gave them a really nice, natural shape. Once the redness had settled down and the brows started to heal, the colours blended together really well and you could barely tell they weren’t real hairs.

The aftercare instructions I got were really clear and easy to follow, and I was given a balm to apply to them to help with the healing and reduce flaking. You are always required to have a touch-up appointment later as some of the pigment can drop out. Since then I have barely had to fill in my brows or do much with them at all. They healed beautifully and the lines are still very crisp and visible.
Ellana completely exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend her if Microblading is something you are considering! You can check out her work on Instagram by searching for @browsby_ellana. She has some fantastic testimonials and if you have any questions at all, she is always more than happy to answer them.

It might seem like a very trivial annoyance and something others may not think much of – but not having to fill in my brows every day, being able to swim or exercise without worrying if they’ll come off is such a relief. Not only that but it cuts my “getting ready” time in half. If you have any queries about Microblading or have ever had it done yourself, I’d love to hear from you in the comments!